Billy Donovan admits painfully after the Heat’s dominance with 36 points

After a strong start to the seasonthe Chicago Bulls are fighting. On Friday, they suffered their worst loss of the season, dropping 36 points to beat the Miami Heat, 143-107.

In the process, the Bulls are now 8-7 and have lost three of their last five games. Moreover, they are practically eliminated from advancing in the NBA Cup tournament.

After Donovan was blunt as can be when evaluating the performance of his team. Basically, they didn’t come out ready to play.

“It was a game where we didn’t know what we were getting into in every aspect,” Donovan said.

Bull trainer Billy Donovan doesn’t win when the 36-point loss to the Miami Heat is summed up.

“It was a game where we didn’t know what we were getting into in every aspect.”@ClutchPoints⁩ pic.tvitter.com/bVAoVVbmGj

— Zachary Draves (@DravesZachari) November 22, 2025

The match stood out in two notable moments. First, their sophomore point guard, Matas Bouzelis, suffered a brief injury scare when he appeared he injured his ankle and had to be carried from the floor. However, Bouzelis returned to the floor and finished with 6 points and five rebounds.

also, Kevin Huerter was kicked out in the third quarter on a controversial call. After the whistle, Huerter hit the ball towards the referee, who hit him in the back. Huerter finished the game with 3 points and two rebounds.

Plus, the The bulls were without Coby Whitewho is still struggling with his recent calf injury.

What were the factors that led to the Bulls losing so badly?

Early on, the Heat set the pace. They combined for a 53-21 run in the first half. From there, the Bulls could only cut the lead by no less than 14 points.

Even though they’re tied for scoring, the Heat (47%) vs. the Bulls (41.7%), Chicago came up short in several critical areas. They shot just 27.9% from the three-point line, were outrebounded 53-39 and sent the Heat to the free throw line 44 times. The latter has diminished Chicago’s ability to excel in transition.

Also, the Bulls turned the ball over 18 times, and the Heat scored 24 points off turnovers, while Chicago scored just six. On the plus side, Ayo Dosunmu scored 23 points and grabbed four rebounds. also, Josh Giddei finished with a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Jalen Smith scored 14 points off the bench, and Jevon Carter scored 10 points.

The Chicago Bulls will play against the Washington Wizards on Saturday.